Artist Name: FiftyDegrees Title: Beethoven’s Fifth Genre: Rock Rating:
Equipment
DAW – Cubase 13; Interface – Focusrite Clarett+ 8Pre; Drums – Toontrack Superior Drummer 3 played with a Roland TD-6V; Guitars – Gibson Les Paul Studio, Fender Telecaster; Bass – Fender Active Precision Bass into SansAmp Para Driver; Keys – Roland JUNO-60, Yamaha SK20; Amps – Epiphone Devon Tremolo, Crate Vintage 20 Club; Pedals and Effects – Xotic Effects Wah, UAFX Lion, Boss DD-500, Empress Compressor; Microphones – Neumann TLM 102, Sennheiser e906; Mic Pre – Focusrite ISA One; Monitors – Focal Shape 65 with IK Multimedia ARC 4; Headphones – AKG K271 MKII; Software – iZotope Ozone 11, various percussion plugins.
Music
“Beethoven’s Fifth” is a rock song written by Madison, WI-based Paul Dreifus, under the name FiftyDegrees. Dreifus performed all the instruments; the drum tracks were recorded using Superior Drummer 3 and a Roland TD-6V, while the keyboards were captured with a JUNO-60 and a Yamaha SK20. For fretted instruments, the bass track features a Fender Active Precision Bass, and the guitars were recorded with a Gibson Les Paul Studio and a Telecaster.
Review By Dave Martin
It’s always great to see guitar amps included on the equipment list. Dreifus utilized a Crate Vintage 20 Club and an Epiphone Devon Tremolo set up in stereo for the wah-wah guitar solo. The main guitar part captures the vibe of an amp turned up loud rather than an overly processed, distorted tone, thanks to the UAFX Lion pedal. A fairly clean (and slightly dark-sounding) second guitar plays lines beneath the vocals; in some spots, those lines sound like improvised fills, while in others, they serve as a melodic line intended to support the lead vocal. An interesting rhythm guitar element appears in the back half of each verse; one of the rhythm guitars shifts, adding a subtle 16th note bounce, which helps the song evolve and adds a bit of interest.
The keyboard tracks are relatively sparse but cool. The arpeggiated synth lines in the intro add a nice counterpoint to the main guitar riff, with a bell-like point on the notes ensuring that the keyboards aren’t overwhelmed by it.
The drum (Roland TD-6V/Superior Drummer 3) played in real-time adds a dimension and a flow to the track that is difficult to emulate by programming. Adding to that flow is the bass track, which was recorded with a Fender Active Precision Bass played with a pick and plugged into a Tech 21 SansAmp Para Driver DI.
A Neumann TLM 102 was used with a Focusrite ISA One to capture Dreifus’ lead vocal. The added effects—ambience blended with a touch of slapback delay—help the vocal sit well in the mix.
Dave’s Suggestions
FiftyDegrees’ “Beethoven’s Fifth” has all the elements you look for in a vibey, almost ’70s-influenced rock song. The guitar sounds are spot on, as is the way the drums sit in the mix. The processing on Dreifus’ vocals reminds me a bit of Ian Hunter’s vocals on Mott the Hoople’s early ’70s records, and the keyboards along with the rhythm guitar parts evoke what you heard on albums before Van Halen rewrote the rock guitar playbook. Of special note, of course, is the wah-wah guitar solo; the world needs more of that!
I believe that Paul Dreifus achieved his vision with “Beethoven’s Fifth,” so let’s discuss considerations for future mixes. For example, it might be beneficial to experiment a bit with fill guitar parts. While fill licks (guitar lines played in the spaces between the lines of the song) are not very common in classic rock, they frequently appear in other genres like blues and bluegrass, as well as jazz. Fills are ear candy, intriguing enough to catch the listener’s attention without overshadowing the lead vocal or detracting from the narrative that the singer is conveying. Those fills should be prominent enough in the track to be noticeable; being close to the volume of the lead vocals is acceptable as long as the fills don’t step on the lyrics.
Something else to consider is how to best layer complementary parts. The primary instrumental introduction to “Beethoven’s Fifth” is the guitar riff. But on repeated listening, I wished that the arpeggiated synth line was a bit louder. It’s cool enough that I wanted it to be easier to hear, though not loud enough that it distracted from the riff guitar.
One final point: percussion instruments tend to be fairly loud in real life, so I tend to think that they should be clearly heard on a recording. The cowbell on “Don’t Fear the Reaper” or “Mississippi Queen” might show what I mean. And for cowbell parts that are part of the drummers’ kit, give a listen to Jeff Beck’s “Glad All Over.”
Summary
I enjoyed listening to “Beethoven’s Fifth” from FiftyDegrees; it’s a cool recording. Listen to some of the other songs on their SoundCloud page: soundcloud.com/fiftydegrees.
Dave Martin is a producer, engineer and bassist. Dave owned Nashville’s Java Jive Studio for close to 25 years. Dave has recorded, produced and/or played with symphony orchestras, rock and roll icons and country music legends ranging from the Old Crow Medicine Show, The Dead Pickers Society, Porter Wagoner, Robben Ford, Billy Cobham, The Box Tops, Carl Verheyen, Richie Faulkner (Judas Priest), Adrian Belew, Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick), Eric Johnson, Robbie Fulks, Steve Vai, The Coasters and others. Dave is also a member of the Western Swing Hall of Fame.